Bernoulli's equation, which was named for Daniel Bernoulli, relates the pressure in a gas to the local velocity; so as the velocity changes around the object, the pressure changes as well.


What's the problem?

Bernoulli's equation is used on aircraft to provide a speedometer called a pitot-static tube. A pressure is quite easy to measure with a mechanical device. In a pitot-static tube, we measure the static and total pressure and can then use Bernoulli's equation to compute the velocity.
  • Ask - How fast is this airplane going? It is moving through the air at some speed. The air itself can be moving too. Pilots talk about headwinds and tailwinds - the air mass is moving in the opposite direction or the same direction as the airplane is traveling.
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external image pitot.gif
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  • Bernoulli and Newton - very complex explanation of the usual over-simplification of the description of the forces of aerodynamic lift


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